I definitely understand that. A lot of the time, when I critique, it comes across as more strongly negative than I mean, and that's an aspect of my writing upon which I need to improve. With regards to the "range comment", I really liked what you did on "The Golden Age of Radio" especially, and several other songs and parts of songs on the album ("Brighter" comes to mind). I suppose a more clear way of putting it was that I wanted more of that type of style from you. You're a really good guy and I'm glad you weren't offended by some of the negative aspects of my review. Even though we don't talk much, I really do respect you as both a poster, a person, and a musician.

I find praise harder to write in reviews. It's tough to find a way to say it that you haven't before. Negative comments are much easier to write. That's the challenge.

I think (and this is probably more inside the mind of a vocalist than you want to go, lol) it's crucial to mix things up as a vocalist. If every vocal was me pushing my range like the end of "Golden Age" the bridge of "Aurora" and the chorus of "Brighter", then those moments aren't as special anymore. So sometimes I go low (the verse of "Brighter") sometimes a bit more rhythmic ("I Gave Her My Heart"), sometimes really gentle (the first chorus of "I'll Do Anything") because if you use any one style/range too much, it stops being as effective. So I'm glad you really like those moments. They're supposed to be the moments where my voice really stretches, so I guess that was effective. But I'd just wonder if you'd like those spots as much if I did that on every song. If that makes any sense.

I find praise harder to write in reviews. It's tough to find a way to say it that you haven't before. Negative comments are much easier to write. That's the challenge.

I think (and this is probably more inside the mind of a vocalist than you want to go, lol) it's crucial to mix things up as a vocalist. If every vocal was me pushing my range like the end of "Golden Age" the bridge of "Aurora" and the chorus of "Brighter", then those moments aren't as special anymore. So sometimes I go low (the verse of "Brighter") sometimes a bit more rhythmic ("I Gave Her My Heart"), sometimes really gentle (the first chorus of "I'll Do Anything") because if you use any one style/range too much, it stops being as effective. So I'm glad you really like those moments. They're supposed to be the moments where my voice really stretches, so I guess that was effective. But I'd just wonder if you'd like those spots as much if I did that on every song. If that makes any sense.

That's definitely true. Though for albums I absolutely adore, I'm often better able to praise the album, citing specific reasons, aspects of the album I like, etc. But for an album I like but think has several flaws, I'm not as good at keeping the overall vibe of the review positive.

Yes, that makes a lot of sense, and it's probably true that I wouldn't like those spots as much, because there would be less variety and therefore they wouldn't be true "standout" moments. I think I just wanted a bit MORE of that vocal stretching, but obviously that's just my preference.
Thanks for being such a nice, stand-up guy.

That's definitely true. Though for albums I absolutely adore, I'm often better able to praise the album, citing specific reasons, aspects of the album I like, etc. But for an album I like but think has several flaws, I'm not as good at keeping the overall vibe of the review positive.

Yes, that makes a lot of sense, and it's probably true that I wouldn't like those spots as much, because there would be less variety and therefore they wouldn't be true "standout" moments. I think I just wanted a bit MORE of that vocal stretching, but obviously that's just my preference.
Thanks for being such a nice, stand-up guy.

Well if you can reasonably discuss feedback, I certainly can, too. I'm glad you liked the album, to whatever degree you did.

Also, fun fact: The most "stretching" I did on the album is that bridge to "Aurora." At the end of every session I just yelled myself hoarse and when my voice went, we were done for the day.

I really do enjoy it and there's improvement over the EP which is a very good thing.

I think I'll go and listen to "Aurora" right now, I need to refresh my memory of that bridge. That's awesome (though it probably hurt). What'd you do to recover vocally after you'd lose your voice?

Well there's a fine line between wearing your voice out and damaging it. I call it "losing my fastball." You can't sustain long notes, you lose the edge off your voice/sound hoarse and your falsetto has no pitch. Recovering from that is easy. Just don't talk much, drink a few cups of tea and get some sleep. If you push it to the point of damage, that's a whole different story.